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Saturday, September 27
Review of Sofitel Luxembourg Le Grand Ducal, Mosconi Restaurant
by
GB
on Sat 27 Sep 2008 22:43 BST
 FOR most Europeans, I would guess, Luxembourg features very little in our thoughts. It sits oddly, permanently in the background of our lives, a minor detail on the map of Europe as we scan for more glamorous locations in Italy, Switzerland or France. For some reason, we had a rising curiosity about the Grand Duchy in 2008, partly inspired by the search for well-regarded Michelin-starred restaurants on the continent. It turned out that Luxembourg was home to Mosconi, a two-star Italian restaurant - the only one with such status outside of Italy itself. So we packed a party of six ... more »
Friday, May 30
Review of La Reserve, Lake Geneva
by
GB
on Fri 30 May 2008 11:17 BST
Getting to La Reserve is super easy from London, as long as you use the Swiss service from City Airport to Geneva. Thank Heavens for London City Airport on a Bank Holiday weekend - no Heathrow, no desperate lines at security, no long queue to get on the plane. Once you land and get through passport control (with typical Swiss efficiency), it’s only a ten minute taxi ride before you are pulling into the gates of La Reserve. As you can see from the picture above, the building isn’t going to win any architectural awards, but once you get inside, this is one luxurious resort. more »
Friday, February 15
Sunset at the Miraflores Park Hotel, Lima
by
GB
on Fri 15 Feb 2008 11:09 GMT
Miraflores is one of the wealthiest parts of Lima, and home to most of its best hotels. It sits on the cliffs high above the coast, and has very pretty gardens which run along the front. more »
Tuesday, February 12
Review of Sanctuary Lodge, Machu Picchu
by
GB
on Tue 12 Feb 2008 23:43 GMT
The defining feature of Machu Picchu is mystery. Even though the buildings are bare and decaying, there is still the sense that the place has just been abandoned with great haste. You half-expect to come across a dinner plate with half-eaten Alpaca bones in one of the tiny houses below. But who was here and why did they leave? more »
Saturday, January 26
Review of La Tremoille & Le Pre Catelan, Paris
by
GB
on Sat 26 Jan 2008 23:55 GMT
There are five of us here for a special occasion - KB’s birthday - and I can’t imagine a better place to stay than Hotel Tremoille. It has been undergoing an extensive renovation itself, 16 months of upgrading which has turned Tremoille into a very fine mid-sized hotel in the heart of Paris’ ‘Golden Triangle’, just a few minutes’ walk from George V Avenue and the Champs-Elysees. more »
Monday, December 10
Review of Sumahan on the Water, Istanbul
by
GB
on Mon 10 Dec 2007 19:59 GMT
Sumahan was created from the shell of a 19th century Ottoman distillery. It has been renovated with a great deal of care, and sits in perfect harmony with the quiet little village next door. more »
Saturday, December 8
Review of Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten and Tantris restaurant, Munich
by
GB
on Sat 08 Dec 2007 20:28 GMT
With its bulbous yellow lamps and multi-coloured pillars, Tantris is more like a Tate Modern installation than a restaurant. more »
Wednesday, October 31
Review of Hollmann Beletage, Vienna
by
GB
on Wed 31 Oct 2007 08:20 GMT
Looking for the Hollman Beletage Hotel? Do we have the right address? you may ask yourself as you head down Köllnerhofgasse, a short street about five minutes walk from St Stephen’s Cathedral. You stop at the entrance to a grand old apartment building and enter a secret code which opens the heavy door. Once inside, your eyes wander around the cavernous hallway, which looks little changed from the late Imperial era. more »
Monday, October 1
Review of The Astoria, St Petersburg
by
GB
on Mon 01 Oct 2007 12:49 BST
There are a small number of world class hotels in St Petersburg, and this is one of them. The Astoria has been around since 1912, when the unfortunate Nicholas II was still living in style down the road at the Winter Palace. Just about every world leader who has visited the city since has stayed at the Astoria. more »
Sunday, August 26
City Hotels : Kurhaus Hotel, Den Haag, Netherlands
by
GB
on Sun 26 Aug 2007 17:26 BST
I could write a novel set in the Kurhaus. Having much work to do in the Dutch capital last year, I must have stayed there at least a dozen times. Last week I found myself back there for the day, and had to take the tram down to Scheveningen for a quick visit to the grand old lady of the Dutch hotel trade. For those unfamiliar with the Netherlands, Scheveningen is the small outpost which sits right on the North Sea, about three miles from Den Haag city centre. There is a very long, straight drive down to the coast, ... more »
Friday, January 5
City Hotels: The Kamp, Helsinki
by
GB
on Fri 05 Jan 2007 21:27 GMT
You have to love the capital of a country which single-handedly held off the might of the Red Army, enjoys a drink without behaving like British morons, and has produced some of the hi-tech products which define our age. more »
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